ASTF DJ Alumni
New York City, 2002: Dante walks into the door of a tango studio and never leaves. What he stumbled upon was a world of dance, music and friendship that, although he never knew existed, seemed to be waiting patiently for him to arrive. Initially refusing to be like those “crazies” who became obsessed with shoes and spent their entire weekends at the dance studio, the generosity of teachers and the kindness of gracious partners drew him back, time and again, a moth dancing towards the light.
How could a single dance encompass both the music box chimes of Di Sarli’s piano as well as the haunting, human sigh of the bandoneon? How could the unfettered joy of milonga and candombe come from the same place as Pugliese’s foreboding music of the gods?
Climbing the stairs to the dance studio after another feeble attempt to break away from the obsession he would hear that inexorable beat floating down the hallway and think, The tango is patient. Run away all you like—when you are ready to return, the heartbeat of tango is always there. He suffers from his addiction to this day.
Having received a fabulous education at the Sandra Cameron Dance Center, and having had countless opportunities to study with so many great maestros of our time, he went on to become an instructor at New York’s preeminent tango salon, Triangulo. Many times over eight years as he taught weekly classes and hosted milongas under the watchful gaze of a famous life-sized mural depicting New York’s tango community dressed in black tie did he think, Surely this is the most beautiful dance studio in the world.
As a performer, Dante has had the honor of appearing onstage with numerous tango luminaries and has collaborated many times with the great bandoneon player, Tito Castro. Although he considers himself a traditionalist, a passion for creative exploration led him to establish and host Tango Shelter and Milonga 50/50, both of which combined traditional and alternative music..
Tango is a conversation between partners, but it is also a communal conversation with the room and a deeper conversation with culture, history and emotion. Dante will ever-remain a student of this beguiling, haunting, joyful artform. He currently lives, works and dances in Los Angeles.